Hey nerds. This episode, the one and only Ai Yoshihara graces me with her presence. She and I discuss her origin story as a comedian and her beliefs in a life after this one.

Ai grew up in Japan and moved to the US for school. She has lived in Belton, TX; Reno, NV; Las Vegas, NV; and Los Angeles, CA. She studied hotel management, which was just a means to an end. She moved to LA to pursue her true passion: acting. Her acting career pushed her into improv comedy. She did improv for 10 years before transitioning into standup. She's been doing standup for about 4 years. She hosted a live open mic at Flappers on Fridays in the Before Times.

As far as religion goes, she is truly LA. She describes herself as spiritual but not religious. She dabbles in crystals and believes in reincarnation. She clears up some of my fuzzy understanding of reincarnation. I return the favor by clearing up some of her concerns regarding polygamy.

Follow her on Instagram at @aiyoshihara3. And catch her and me at our weekly Zoom mic hosted through Flappers. DM either one of us for the details or get on the Flappers email list by going to their website. The mic is every Saturday at 8:30 PM Pacific. It's the best mic they have.

Hey nerds. This episode, the one and only Ai Yoshihara graces me with her presence. She and I discuss her origin story as a comedian and her beliefs in a life after this one.

Ai grew up in Japan and moved to the US for school. She has lived in Belton, TX; Reno, NV; Las Vegas, NV; and Los Angeles, CA. She studied hotel management, which was just a means to an end. She moved to LA to pursue her true passion: acting. Her acting career pushed her into improv comedy. She did improv for 10 years before transitioning into standup. She's been doing standup for about 4 years. She hosted a live open mic at Flappers on Fridays in the Before Times.

As far as religion goes, she is truly LA. She describes herself as spiritual but not religious. She dabbles in crystals and believes in reincarnation. She clears up some of my fuzzy understanding of reincarnation. I return the favor by clearing up some of her concerns regarding polygamy.

Follow her on Instagram at @aiyoshihara3. And catch her and me at our weekly Zoom mic hosted through Flappers. DM either one of us for the details or get on the Flappers email list by going to their website. The mic is every Saturday at 8:30 PM Pacific. It's the best mic they have.

Hey nerds. I've got Isaac Heckert with me in this one.  He and I met when Isaac was in the practice of taking photos of comics on stage at shows as a networking tool. Isaac is a bit of a jack of all trades. He got his start in Hollywood as a musician in a band, then moved into directing and photography, and was about to move into standup when COVID graced us all with its presence. Now, Isaac is into podcasting and back at directing.

Isaac and I talk about his first couple on stage experiences. He really got his first taste at the Bert's Back Room open mic on Melrose in Hollywood. He moved from that positive experience to a slightly less positive experience at the Sycamore Tavern upstairs space. It was during that experience that Isaac feels he found a big piece of his voice as a standupup.

Currently, Isaac is co-hosting a podcast with Misty Roberts. Misty and Ike is a pop culture podcast. Catch it Monday through Friday at 7am EST. They have just hit 100 episodes and are prepping for a live stream Christmas Eve watch party where they'll be hanging out and watching the Christmas classic, Home Alone. Check out their live stream on Facebook Christmas Eve at https://www.facebook.com/MistyandIke!

Find Isaac Heckert on Instagram at @isaacheckert and find his podcast Misty and Ike everywhere podcasts are found. It's also on Instagram at @mistyandike.

Hey nerds. This episode features the extremely kind and fun comedian David Centofanti. He and I met at a little place called Sal's Comedy Hole on Melrose in Hollywood. The venue used to host open mics and shows all independently produced by comedians trying to give each other a fun space where we could all work out material.

David used to work as a nurse. We talk about his beginnings in the medical field and what led him to pursue comedy. He also discusses some of his early experiences performing on stage. David discloses his first real bomb, which is quite the story -- I'll just say that had I lived what David did, I don't think I would have soldiered on.

We also discuss David's religious upbringing. He talks about his spiritual evolution from Catholicism to a personal belief, hope even. If there is one thing we need right now in 2020, it's hope. I'm not sure I succeeded in convincing David that I am completely right on religion...but he and I find some common ground. What I admire about David is his ability to look for the good in just about every situation we discussed.

I sincerely hope you enjoy this one. I did.

Find David on Instagram at @d_centofanti

Hey nerds. This episode features the extremely kind and fun comedian David Centofanti. He and I met at a little place called Sal's Comedy Hole on Melrose in Hollywood. The venue used to host open mics and shows all independently produced by comedians trying to give each other a fun space where we could all work out material.

David used to work as a nurse. We talk about his beginnings in the medical field and what led him to pursue comedy. He also discusses some of his early experiences performing on stage. David discloses his first real bomb, which is quite the story -- I'll just say that had I lived what David did, I don't think I would have soldiered on.

We also discuss David's religious upbringing. He talks about his spiritual evolution from Catholicism to a personal belief, hope even. If there is one thing we need right now in 2020, it's hope. I'm not sure I succeeded in convincing David that I am completely right on religion...but he and I find some common ground. What I admire about David is his ability to look for the good in just about every situation we discussed.

I sincerely hope you enjoy this one. I did.

Find David on Instagram at @d_centofanti

Hey nerds. This week, I spoke with Liz Glazer. That's right, she returned! We chat about her recent marriage and her life now as a newly wed in New Jersey.

We recorded our conversation on Election Day, which turned into Election Week, which felt quite special. There were many great moments talking about online comedy v live comedy and about our views on our respective faiths. We talked about some difficult topics, but maintained civility and our friendship! Can you imagine?

She has a new special coming out soon! Keep an eye out for Primary Sources. She also has a podcast called Finding Forty. Find her and it at @lizglazer and @findingfortypodcast on Instagram, or just go to her website www.dearlizglazer.com

Hey nerds. This week, I chat with Matthew Robinson, Comedian Matthew Robinson, and Andy Rider - and yes, Matthew Robinson and Comedian Matthew Robinson are very different. I get an inside look on what inspired Matthew to create his comedian alter ego (CMR) and a taste of what Andy goes through every Wednesday and Saturday in their Instagram Live show.

Matthew and Andy have each been doing comedy for over 5 years. They both dabbled in improv, which is something I share with them, so we discussed some horror stories from those times. We talk about what inspired each of us to make the move to standup. And we talk about the role truth plays in comedy.

Matthew and Andy had fairly different exposure to religion growing up. Matthew had a borderline non-religious upbringing in Colorado while Andy was fairly well immersed in some of the South's favorites. They clear up some common misconceptions and confusions when it comes to what separates members of the Church of Jesus Christ from Jehova's Witnesses and Scientologists (though the confusion with Scientology came from CMR). We also get a bit into the differences between a cult and a religion.

Enjoy and check out their Instagram Live shows...so much more will make sense when you do.

Find them both on the Gram, Matthew is at @comedyalpha187 and Andy is at @andyrideragain

Hey nerds. This week, I chat with Matthew Robinson, Comedian Matthew Robinson, and Andy Rider - and yes, Matthew Robinson and Comedian Matthew Robinson are very different. I get an inside look on what inspired Matthew to create his comedian alter ego (CMR) and a taste of what Andy goes through every Wednesday and Saturday in their Instagram Live show.

Matthew and Andy have each been doing comedy for over 5 years. They both dabbled in improv, which is something I share with them, so we discussed some horror stories from those times. We talk about what inspired each of us to make the move to standup. And we talk about the role truth plays in comedy.

Matthew and Andy had fairly different exposure to religion growing up. Matthew had a borderline non-religious upbringing in Colorado while Andy was fairly well immersed in some of the South's favorites. They clear up some common misconceptions and confusions when it comes to what separates members of the Church of Jesus Christ from Jehova's Witnesses and Scientologists (though the confusion with Scientology came from CMR). We also get a bit into the differences between a cult and a religion.

Enjoy and check out their Instagram Live shows...so much more will make sense when you do.

Find them both on the Gram, Matthew is at @comedyalpha187 and Andy is at @andyrideragain

Hey nerds. This week, I spoke with the wonderful Veronica Kwiatowski. She disclosed how she got into comedy and her first open mic experience. We also chatted about the positives and negatives with Zoom shows.

Veronica comes from a Polish, Jewish, Argentinian, American family. So our discussion on religion was a bit of everything. We did find common ground in our hopes for an afterlife and beliefs in something bigger out there.

Turns out, about all Veronica knows about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is what she has gleaned from South Park and the Book of Mormon musical. So, we chatted a bit about how I, and other members of my faith, view that musical and our treatment in the media in general.

It's a great episode. Hope you enjoy.

Find Veronica on Instagram at @veronicakallday. She is hilarious.

Hey nerds. This week, I spoke with the wonderful Veronica Kwiatowski. She disclosed how she got into comedy and her first open mic experience. We also chatted about the positives and negatives with Zoom shows.

Veronica comes from a Polish, Jewish, Argentinian, American family. So our discussion on religion was a bit of everything. We did find common ground in our hopes for an afterlife and beliefs in something bigger out there.

Turns out, about all Veronica knows about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is what she has gleaned from South Park and the Book of Mormon musical. So, we chatted a bit about how I, and other members of my faith, view that musical and our treatment in the media in general.

It's a great episode. Hope you enjoy.

Find Veronica on Instagram at @veronicakallday. She is hilarious.